Insulated support for lamps



K. WIEGAND ET AL INSULATED SUPPORT FOR LAMPS Nov. 9, 1937.

Filed Dec. 2, 1956 Inventor's Kurt \A/iegomcl, Friedf'ich Go itz,

The]? Attorney.

Patented Nov. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcr.

2,098,817 INSULATED surron'r ron LAMPS Kurt Wiegand, Hohennenendorf, near Berlin, and Friedrich Giiritz, Berlin, Germany, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application December 2, 1936, Serial No. 113,918 In Germany December 19, 1935 The present invention is directed to means for 'detachably mounting electric lamps of the type improved means whereby such lamps can be easily mounted in and removed from the current-carrying sockets without danger of electric 10 shock to the person performing the operation.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is aview in rear elevation of an insulating end cap; Fig. 2 .is a view partly in section of a lamp and its supporting means; Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views of 15 one of the lamp sockets, and Fig.5 is a perspective view of one of the insulating caps and its cooperating parts. I

l indicates-an electric incandescent lamp of the tubular type having similar metal bases 2 at 20 its ends, of which one is shown. The bases are or may be of disk-like form, the rim of which has a diameter slightly greater than that of the lamp at the point of attachment. Over the ends of the lamp and covering the bases are detachable 5 caps 3 made wholly of insulating material. As both are alike a description of one will suffice. The cap has a disk portion 3a and a rim 3b having an overhanging portion 30 which engages and covers the peripheral edge of the lamp base 2. 30 The cap is intended to be snapped on over the lamp end and to facilitate this action by giving elasticity to the cap the rim has numerous radial slots 4. Formed integral with the cap is a foot 5 also of insulating material by means of which 35 the lamp and cap are secured in a socket. The foot has a slot- 8 in its bottom or. lower end and notches 9 in its sides. As shown, the notches are V-shaped and are arranged to receive the ends of a retaining spring carried by the socket, 40 as will appear later. The sides of the foot are tapered downwardly to form a wedge for the purpose of separating the legs of the holding spring as the cap with its lamp are inserted in place. Carried by the cap and located between its inner 45 wall and the lamp base is a flat contact spring. 6 which extends through a slot 541 formed in the rim of the cap and in the foot and terminates in a horizontally disposed spring contact part or finger 1 located in the slot 8 of the foot. The

50 walls of the slot 511 serve to position the spring contact 6 and, hold it in the position shown. The walls of the slots 51: and 8 prevent the lower end of the spring from moving sidewise. It will also be seen that the spring contact 6 and the finger 55 contact or part1 is protected by insulation so that in mounting and removing a lamp no opportunity is afforded for the person performing the operationto receive an electrical shock.

The socket comprises a bottom piece l and a housing ll, both of insulating material. To the bottom piece is secured by'means of a screw l2 a U-shaped clamping spring l3, the upper ends of the legs of which are covered and protected by insulating material l4 so as to prevent accidental contact. The spring, however, forms no part of 10 the electrical circuit. The said upperends are forced apart by the wedge-like formation of the foot 5 as it is pushed downwardly, and later they enter the notches 9 of the foot and firmly hold the end cap and lamp in place. The bottom piece also contains two metal bushings or blocks l5 and it, one on each side of the center, either of whichmay serve as a terminal for the current-conducting wire. The bushings are held in place by-the screws l1. Between one of the bushings and a lip on the bottom piece I0 is clamped a fiat conducting element I8 to which is secured a flexible contact l9 that engages the contact 1 within the foot 6 when the latter is pushed downward into place between the legs of the U-shaped spring I3.

In assembling the parts the insulating caps are first snapped over the ends of the lamp. The feet of the caps as they are inserted in placev and due to their tapered or beveled ends first force the legs of the retaining spring l3 apart and subsequently permit said ends to spring into the notches 9 and thereby hold the parts in place. The walls of the notchesare purposely made relatively wide as are also the ends of the spring so as to afiord a firm seating, as will be apparent from Fig. 5.

The housing H is secured to the supporting structure by means of a screw inserted through opening Ha which permits of a limited amount of adjustment of the housing in the axial direction of the lamp. The housing has shoulders or overhanging walls which engage or cover parts of the bottom piece l0 so that when it is secured in place the bottom piece is likewise secured.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A tubular lamphaving a metal base at the end thereof, an elastic cap of insulating material adapted to be snapped over and grip the metal base, a radially extending foot also of insulating material-on the cap having a side notch adapted to receive the holding spring of a socket, and a contact spring engaging the lamp base and located between it and the inner end wall of the insulating cap, one end of the spring extending through a wall of the cap into the foot, said spring at the other end terminating within and protected from accidental contact by said foot.

2. A tubular lamp having a metal base at the 5 end thereof, a spring cap made wholly or insulating material and adapted to be snapped over and ,grip the metal base, a radially extending foot integral with the cap having a notch in a side wall and an open slot in its under side, and a contact 10 spring engaging the lamp base and located be- 'tween it and the inner end wall or the cap, the lower end of the spring extending through the cap into the open slot in the foot and protected thereby from accidental contact.

'said rim and foot having a second slot, and a contact spring which extends through the second slot, one end of the spring being located within the cap adjacent the disk portion and the other, end located in said open slot in the bottom KURT WIEGAND. FRIEDRICH ebnnz.

of the foot. 

